Lewis



No. 606,996. Patented July 5, |898.

' L. c. MARSHALL..

CAR Rom?.

(Application filed Feb. 11, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 606,999. Patented July 5,1898.

L.1 MAR-SHALL..

GAR: mmf

(Application me@ Fela-N u,. 1899) QNo Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

NiTnD STATES- ATENT i rrrcn.,

LEl/VIS O. MARSHALL, OF VVALPOLE, IWIASSAOHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO F. W.BIRD & SON, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-ROOF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 606,996, dated July 5,1898.

Application filed February 11,1898. Serial No. 669,897. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEWIS O. MARSHALL, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at East lValpole, in the county of Norfolk and Stateof Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inOar-Roofs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to car-roofs, and particularly to roofconstructions for freight-cars, and is in the nature of an improvementupon the roof construction described in United States Letters Patentissued to me July 7, 1896, No. 563,718, the object being to provide animproved roof-covering strip of paper or' like flexible material, andimproved means for attaching or securing said material to a carroof, andimproved construction of detail parts of the roof, whereby free egressis provided for cnders and other matter from the roof, and at the sametime providing an improved construction of the eaves portion of the car,whereby the lower partially-attached border or lower end of the saidroof-covering material is fully protected against thel entrance of windor rain thereunder and conducing substantially to its permanentattachment to the roof; and the invention consists in the peculiarconstruction of said roof-covering strip, of portions of the roofadjacent to the lower end of said strip, and in improved means forattaching said lower end of said strip to the car, all as hereinafterfully described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure l is aperspective partly-sectional View of a portion of the roof of a car,illustrating the relative positions of the upper and the sub roofsthereof and the position of the roof-covering material or strip asapplied to the subroof; and Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate, respectively,cross and longitudinal sections of the roof, said two Vfiguresillustrating a roof construction embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is aview on line 2 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, on line 3 3, Fig. 1; and Fig. 5, online 5 5, Fig. 1. Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate in perspective views stripsof said roof-covering material, Fig. 7 showing, as hereinafterdescribed, a modied form of the border of said material which isadjacent the eaves when applied to the car-roof.

In the drawings, N indicates the subroof of the car, and A the side ofthe latter, said subroof terminating on a line with the outer face ofsaid side, as shown. On said subroof are applied the subrafters R,having grooves in their borders, as in my aforesaid United StatesLetters Patent, to receive the borders of the strip of the roofing paperor material F, as further described below. Said sub rafters divide thesurface of said roof into several cross-sections- B is an inner facialboard fixed on said side of the car and against the edge o f saidsubroof N, over the upper edge of which the lower ends of saidsubrafters R lie, as shown. Said inner facial board constitutes,substantially, a portion of the side of the car below the roof-border oreaves. Preferably at the'lower ends of said subrafters R are fixedblocks D against said inner facial board B, and against the outer faceof said blocks is fixed an outer facial board O. Thus, Aas will beclearly seen and especially in Figs. 3 and 4, an open space or chamber Iis provided, into which the lower scalloped border of said strip ofroofing material F projects, reaching across the same and having contactwith the inner side of said outer facial board O,whereby certainportions or projections h of the scallops on the lower end of said stripof rooling material are held in downwardly-inclined positions, as seenin Figs. 3 and 4, while the longitudinal borders of the strip are heldfor more or less free movement in the grooves in the opposite borders ofsaid rafters R, as in my said Letters Patent. The said roofing materialis preferably a heavy suitably-prepared waterproof paper, and the saidprojections h, on the lower border thereof, 4when bent downwardly, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4, behind the outer facial board C, so that theirextremities spring up against said board to the position shown in Fig.3, tend, together with the fastening element below described, to retainthe parts of the lower border of said roofing material which lie betweenthe central fastening element P and the subrafters R on either side ofsaid fastening element against that part of IOO the surface of thesubroof adjoining the eaves thereof and prevent rain or dust fromblowing thereunder. The openings or recessed spaces T, between the saidprojections h on the lower border of the said roofing strip or materialF, provide for the free and quick escape of water, cnders, and dirt frombetween the outer and the sub roofs, which matters fall freely to theground through the open spaces intermediate of the said facial boards Band C. The lower edge of said roof covering material has, preferably, aborder conformation, as illustrated in Figs. l, 4, and 6, therebyleaving fairly long spaces T for the free discharge of the above-namedmatters therefrom, which are more effective than the narrow spaces shownin Fig. '7.

The swaying movements of heavily-laden freight-cars cause, as is wellknown, quite a torsional action of the roof thereof, the eect of whichaction is, if the lower border of the roofing material be nailed orsimilarly fastened to the eaves of the roof at several points, to causesaid fastened border to tear from its fastenin gs in one or more placesand thus seriously disturb the connection between the lower edge thereofand the car-roof. Therefore provision is made as follows for aroofing-strip fastening which, while coperating with said groovedsubrafters R to hold said roofing-strip securely and flatly upon theroof, guards against any damage to said' strip -resultin g from saidtorsional roof action: Said fastening is effected at a point on thelower end of said rooting-strips or sheet F about midway between itslongitudinal borders by a pin or screw I), as shown in Figs. l and 5,which passes through one of the centrallylocated projections 7L afterthe latter shall have been bent down against the inner facial board Bunder the eaves of the car. To strengthen said single fastening, it ispreferable that a metal or similar gromet K be fixed to said bent-downpiece through which said pin or screw passes. The said projections h ofsaid sheet F each side of said attached point are then bent downwardlywithin the said open space or chamber I and engaged, as aforesaid,withthe inner face of said outer facial board C, thereby maintaining thoseportions of the end of said sheet between the inner borders of thegrooved subrafters R and said gromet K in the positions relative to thesubroof N. (Shown in the drawings.) The upper ends of the strips ofroofing material F overlap each other across the ridge of the subroof N,as shown in Fig. l.

The within-described roof construction provides a complete housing foreach of the sections or strips of the roof-covering F, consisting of thesubroof N thereunder, two grooved snbrafters R at the borders thereof,the outer roof L, and the inner and outer separated facial boards B andC, between which is the open space or chamber I, intercommunicating withthe open space between said two roofs and receiving the lower scallopedend of said roof-covering strip, thus providing such protection for thesaid covering F as conduces to its proper action as a roof-covering inconnection with a fastening device for the lower end thereof whichpermits the requisite freedom of movement, as described, between thesame and the car-roof.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a car-roof construction, a subroof, a facial board secured on theside of the car opposite the edge of said roof, but out of contacttherewith, thereby forming one or more chambers or open spaces betweensaid roof edge and said board, a rooting-strip of ilexible materialapplied to said subroof having several projections thereon entering saidchamber, and means for attaching one of the said projections on saidlower end in a bentdown position against the side of the car, wherebythe lower end of said strip is secured to said car side, substantiallyas described.

2. In a car-roof construction, a subroof, a facial board secured on theside of the car opposite the edge of said roof, but out of contacttherewith, thereby forming one or more chambers or open spaces betweensaid roof edge and said board, a roofing-strip of ilexible materialapplied to said subroof having 'several projections thereon enteringsaid chamber, and having the extremities of certain of the saidprojections of said strip extending across said chamber and held in adownbent position by engagement with the inner side of said facialboard7 and means for attaching one of the said projections in abent-down position against the side of the car whereby thelower end ofsaid strip is secured to said car, substantially as described.

3. In a car-roof construction, a subroof, a facial board secured on theside of the car opposite the edge of said roof, but out of contacttherewith, thereby forming one or more chambers or open spaces betweensaid roof edge and said board, a roofing-strip of ilexible materialapplied to said subroof having several projections thereon entering saidchamber and recessed spaces extending therebetween of a length exceedingthe base of said projections, and `means for attaching one of the saidprojections on said strip in a bentdown position against the side of thecar, whereby the lower end of said strip is secured to said car side,substantially as described.

4. A roof-covering for cars consisting of a strip of preparedroofing-paper having several projections on its lower border, and havinga metal gromet fixed in one vor more of said projections for engagementwith a stripfastening object passing through said gromet into the sideof the car, substantially as de'- scribed.

5. In a car-roof construction, a subroof, a facial board secured on theside of the car opposite the edge of said roof, but ont of contacttherewith thereby forming one or more IOO IIO

chambers or open spaces between said roof edge and said board, aroofing-strip of flexible material applied to said roof having severalprojections thereon entering said chamber, a grornet fixed in one ofsaid projections, and a fastening object forced through said gromet intothe side of the car thereby securing said last-named projection againstsaid car side and the lower end of said strip to the car, substantiallyas described.

6. In a car roof construction, a subroof whose lower edge terminates atthe outer face of the side of the car, an inner facial board securedagainst the side of the car adjoining said lower edge of the roof andcovering said edge,subrafters applied to said subroof having in theirborders longitudinal grooves Whose lower ends extend over and terminateat the outer face of said board, an outer facial board secured to theside of the car outwardly opposite said inner board and out of contactwith the latter, thereby forming an open chamber between said boardsopposite the lower edge of said subroof, a strip of flexibleroof-covering material applied to said subroof between said subrafterswhose longitudinal borders enter said grooves in said rafters havingseveral projections on the lower end thereof entering said chamber,certain extremities of which extend across said chamber and are held indownbent positions by engagement with the inner side of said outerfacial board, and having one of said projections bent downwardly againstthe side of the said inner facial board, and means for securing the samethereagainst whereby the said lower end of said strip is attached tothecar,substantially as described.

7. In a car-roof construction, a subroof divided into cross-sections bysubrafters fixed thereon and having chambers on the sides of the caropposite the lower ends of each of said sections, a strip ofroof-covering material applied upon each of said sections having itslower end entering said chamber, and. a part thereof turned down againstthe inner facial board below the eaves, and a strip-fastening devicepassing through said turneddown part, thus attaching said coveringmaterial to the side of the car at a single point between thelongitudinal borders of said strip, substantially as described.

LEWIS C. MARSHALL.

Witnesses:

ALFRED E. BARBER, GEO. M. GRAVES.

